Proof of sex crimes committed by Hamas and what is missing - Haaretz Investigation

The mounting evidence of sexual violence that occurred on October 7 is still coming to light. This article, published 18 April 2024, reveals the details of the systematic acts of sexual violence that took place and how political sides are swaying the narrative, while victims and survivors fight to reveal the truth. It is based on conversations with dozens of sources, a Haaretz investigation delineates which proof exists for sex crimes committed by Hamas – and what is missing.

Efforts to investigate and document evidence by Israeli authorities

Reporting for CNN, Jake Tapper and Kirsten Appleton, provide detail on the latest developments by Israeli authorities who are investigating the atrocities of October 7. Israeli police are using forensic evidence, video and witness testimony and interrogations of suspects to document cases of rape amid the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.

Cochav Elkayam-Levy, a human rights law expert at Hebrew University, has formed a civil commission with colleagues to document evidence of the atrocities, fearing that as the war devastates Gaza and the lives of thousands of Palestinians, the world seems willing to look over the violence against Israeli women and girls. “We’ll never know everything that has happened to them,” Elkayam-Levy told CNN. “We know that most women who were raped and who were sexually assaulted were also murdered.”

Israel’s police acknowledge their investigation may take months, and Elkayam-Levy said it remains unclear how or where any prosecutions would be handled, though she noted that some families of dual nationals could seek justice in countries other than Israel as well as pursue cases in international courts.

She Has Investigated Allegations of Sexual Violence in War Around the World. Here’s What She Wants You to Know.

Despite being “the cheapest weapon known to man,” sexual violence in war is “almost always ignored in the history books,” writes journalist Christina Lamb in her 2020 book, Our Bodies, Their Battlefields: War Through the Lives of Women.

After the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, Lamb went to Israel to investigate allegations of sexual violence. She published a report in early December, highlighting Israeli activists’ frustrations with the initial silence on the allegations of widespread rape from the United Nations and other international bodies. 

What the UN report does and doesn’t say

The UN report gives clarity, not answers, says Ellen Ioanes reporting for Vox.  She notes that We now have one of the most definitive sources so far in the contentious discussion about militants from Gaza’s perpetration of sexual violence on October 7.

UN investigations and reports

On 04 March 2024, the UN’s special envoy on sexual violence in conflict has reported that there is “clear and convincing information that sexual assaults including rape and gang-rape in several places took place during the October 7 attacks by Hamas.  It also believes that some women and children hostages held by Hamas had been subjected to rape and sexualised torture and that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe such abuses were “ongoing”. An internal analysis by UNRWA, based on interviews with released Palestinians, finds that prisoners were ‘beaten and sexually assaulted’ at Israeli detention centres.

The Association of Rape Crisis Centres Report

On 21 February 2024, Association of Rape Crisis Centres in Israelreleased one of the first investigative reports on the atrocities committed on October 7. This report results from an initial examination of all the public and classified information, interviews, and testimonies that can be revealed now, which will likely increase with time. The report demonstrates that sexual abuse was not an isolated incident or sporadic case but rather a clear operational strategy.